KOLLAM: The Kollam district hospital that accommodated hundreds of injured in the Puttingal temple blasts lacks proper facilities to treat burn victims. A proposal to construct a burn intensive care unit under the National Health Mission was submitted in 2012, but was not considered by the central government.
The central team that visited the hospital in the wake of the temple accident was told about the hospital’s requirements.The burn ICU consists of burning high dependent unit, burning care ward and experts, including plastic surgeon, local surgeon and anaesthetist.
“Presently, the hospital has facilities for handling patients with 40 percent burns only. In the case of the present accident, only three burn patients were admitted here and the rest were referred to other hospitals. Most of the people admitted here had suffered injuries caused by the building parts and stampede. The hospital will give a new proposal to the central team,” Mr Shaiju Hameed, National Health Mission district coordinator, told DC.
“The burn inflicted patients with above 40 percent burns are considered critical. They need specialty care for recovery. Burns are called sterile inflammation and the patients need not be give antibiotics during the first three days. But usually, they are given antibiotics such as penicillin as precaution,” Dr. Jagath Kumar, surgeon of the district hospital, told DC.
The patients need expert medical care, including plastic surgery. Patients with 55 percent to 60 percent burns have low chances of recovery and need intensive care, he said.
In most cases, patients are prone to septicaemia, the inflammation of organs which may spread throughout the body. The severity varies depending
on the age and disease history of the patient. The injured should be hydrated as burns cause severe water loss from the body. As a first aid, the burns can be cooled down using water, according to experts.
